Background: Pregnancy is a period of transformation, hope, expectation, and worry for women and their families. A high-risk pregnancy refers to a pregnancy in which the mother and/or fetus are at greater-than-normal risk of complications, and it evokes a range of emotional and psychological experiences that largely depend on the care and support provided by health professionals. The purpose of this review is to summarize the existing literature on the lived experience of hope in women facing a high-risk pregnancy related to their own health and/or medical conditions related to the fetus.
Methods: This review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute's methodology. No limits on a date were applied to the search. Identified titles and abstracts were screened to select original reports and were cross-checked for any overlap of cases. We included studies that emphasized the experience of hope of pregnant women dealing with a pregnancy complication.
Main results: According to the results of the present scoping review, we found two main dimensions: women experiencing a high-risk pregnancy themselves and prenatal diagnosis. In both cases, the women were in a dilemma between hope and hopelessness.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that women facing high-risk pregnancies struggle with multiple fears and concerns about their own health and the fetus's health. Further research is needed to identify best practices for the care provided to the vulnerable populations.
Keywords: high-risk pregnancy; hope; life experience; mental health; pregnancy complications; prenatal diagnosis; review.